Colossians 1:10
so that you may walk in a manner worthy of the Lord and may please Him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God,
Sermons
The Knowledge of God's WillW.F. Adneney Colossians 1:9, 10
The Apostle's Prayer for the Enlargement and Completion of Their Spiritual LifeT. Croskery Colossians 1:9-11
A Comprehensive Apostolic PrayerG. Barlow.Colossians 1:9-12
A Worthy WalkFamily ChurchmanColossians 1:9-12
All PleasingJ. Vaughan, M. A.Colossians 1:9-12
Filled with the Knowledge of His WillT. Binney.Colossians 1:9-12
Fruitful in Every Good WorkW. Arnot, D. D.Colossians 1:9-12
FruitfulnessBishop Davenant.Colossians 1:9-12
Fruitfulness and ProgressJ. Spence, D. D.Colossians 1:9-12
God Known Imperfectly But ReallyH. W. Beecher.Colossians 1:9-12
Intercessory PrayerC. H. Spurgeon.Colossians 1:9-12
Knowledge of Divine WillBishop Davenant.Colossians 1:9-12
Life a WalkJ. Daille.Colossians 1:9-12
Multiform FruitfulnessC. H. Spurgeon.Colossians 1:9-12
No Work Must be DeclinedC. H. Spurgeon.Colossians 1:9-12
Paul's Desire for the ColossiansJ. Morison, D. D.Colossians 1:9-12
Spiritual Knowledge and its Practical ResultsC. H. Spurgeon.Colossians 1:9-12
The Blessed OccupancyF. B. Meyer, B. A.Colossians 1:9-12
The Essential Connection Between Knowledge and PietyW. Arnot, D. D.Colossians 1:9-12
The Experimental Knowledge of God the End of All Christian EndeavourDean Goulburn.Colossians 1:9-12
The IntercessionE.S. Prout Colossians 1:9-12
The Knowledge of GodE. D. Griffin, D. D.Colossians 1:9-12
The Knowledge of the Will of GodS. Martin.Colossians 1:9-12
The Necessity of Christian Fruitfulness to Divine KnowledgeW. Arnot, D. D.Colossians 1:9-12
The Necessity of Divine Knowledge to Christian FruitfulnessW. Arnot, D. D.Colossians 1:9-12
The PrayerA. Maclaren, D. D.Colossians 1:9-12
The Use of Spiritual UnderstandingBishop D. Wilson.Colossians 1:9-12
The Value of Intercessory PrayerI. S. Spencer, D. D.Colossians 1:9-12
Walk WorthilyT. Stork.Colossians 1:9-12
Walking So as to Please GodJ. H. Evans, M. A.Colossians 1:9-12
Sanctified KnowledgeS. Charnock.Colossians 1:9-14
Spiritual KnowledgeG. S. Bowes.Colossians 1:9-14
The Apostolic PrayerU. R. Thomas.Colossians 1:9-14
The Apostolic PrayerU.R. Thomas Colossians 1:9-14
The Best KnowledgeJ. Spencer.Colossians 1:9-14
The Kingdom of God's Dear SonR.M. Edgar Colossians 1:9-14
The Knowledge of the Divine WillW. B. Pope, D. D.Colossians 1:9-14
The Power of Unceasing PrayerColossians 1:9-14
Prayer Leading Up to the Person of ChristR. Finlayson Colossians 1:9-23














I. THE URGENT SPIRIT OF THIS PRAYER. "For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray and make request for you."

1. It is the duty as well as the desire of ministers, not only to teach their flocks, but to pray for them. They must say, like Samuel, "God forbid that I should... cease to pray for you" (2 Samuel 12:23). The prayer of Moses was more influential against Amalek than all the weapons of Israel. "The prayer of a righteous man availeth much" (James 5:16).

2.. They ought to be unceasing in their supplications. There must be "perseverance in supplication for all saints" (Ephesians 6:18). We must give God no rest; for he often delays the answer to increase our importunity (Luke 18:3, 4; 2 Corinthians 12:8, 9).

3. The reason for constant supplication. "For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray... for you." The apostle had heard of their faith and love, and was naturally concerned for their growth in grace, for the free course of the Word among them, and for their freedom from all error. He heard they were good, and he prayed that they might be better.

II. THE SUBSTANCE OF THE APOSTLE'S PRAYER. "That ye may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding."

1. The Divine will is the supreme subject of knowledge to a believer. It is not mere speculations about God's nature or his counsels, but his will, that we are to study. This is God's will as it is made known to us either in Scripture or experience.

(1) It is his determining will (Ephesians 1:5).

(2) It is his prescribing will, including Law and gospel, and especially the nature of faith and repentance (Acts 22:9; Ephesians 1:9; Romans 12:2.)

(3) It is his will of approval (Galatians 1:4; Matthew 18:14).

(4) It is his providential will (1 Corinthians 1:1; Romans 1:10). We have much to learn concerning God's will in these four respects.

2. The knowledge necessary to understand it is instinct with "spiritual wisdom and understanding." Knowledge is power, but it may work for evil as well as good. It must be regulated by wisdom and understanding.

(1) Wisdom; not that which has "a show of wisdom," and springs from vanity nurtured by the fleshly mind (Colossians 2:18, 23); not fleshly wisdom (2 Corinthians 1:12); much less that which is "earthly, sensual, devilish" (James 3:17); but spiritual wisdom - the knowledge of the true end of life, such as God gives to the simple (Psalm 19:7), enabling them to penetrate the mysteries of Divine truth (1 Corinthians 2:6) and to understand their duty to God and man in all the relations of life. It is "from above" (James 3:17); it presupposes the existence of faith and love; it is a subject of Christian prayer.

(2) Understanding is the faculty of spiritual insight which takes in the bearings of things. It fits us for the service of God on earth and for the glory of God in heaven. As it is spiritual, it is touched with meekness and humility.

3. The measures of this knowledge. "That ye may be filled with the knowledge of his will." There is no limit assigned to it.

(1) We cannot rest with mere rudiments; we must be "filled with all knowledge" (Romans 15:14).

(2) There will always be something wanting in this life. "We know in part" (1 Corinthians 13:11).

(3) Nothing but the knowledge of the will of God will ever satisfy the deep hunger of man's heart.

4. Motives to this fuller knowledge.

(1) It is the glory of the saints to have it (Jeremiah 9:24).

(2) It is their special privilege to have it (Mark 4:11.)

(3) To want it is a sin and a sorrow (Hosea 4:6).

(4) It is the most excellent of all knowledge; for it is eternal life itself (John 17:3).

5. Design of this knowledge. "To walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, bearing fruit in every good work, and increasing by the knowledge of God; strengthened with all might, according to the power of his glory, unto all patience and long suffering with joyfulness." The design is twofold as it bears respectively upon action and upon suffering.

(1) The knowledge of God's will is to influence conduct. Its true end is practical obedience. We are "to walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing."

(a) Walking worthy of the Lord. This is not

(α

) with a worthiness of merit, far we are all of us unprofitable servants (Luke 17:10);

(β

) but with a worthiness of meekness such as is becoming when we consider the dignity of our calling, the glory of the kingdom of God, the supplies of grace which the gospel affords, and the blessed hopes laid up for us in heaven.

(γ

) It is a worthiness "unto all pleasing." We must "so serve God that we may please him" (Hebrews 12:28; 1 Corinthians 7:31).

(i.) He that seeks not to please him in all things seeks not to please him in anything.

(ii.) If we please him he will make our very" enemies at peace with us" (Proverbs 16:7).

(iii.) "Men pleasing" is inconsistent with God pleasing (Colossians 3:22).

(iv.) It would be sinful and ungrateful to displease him.

(v.) Pleasing God is the work of heaven (Psalm 103:20, 21).

(b) A twofold aspect of worthy walking.

(α

) Christian fruitfulness. "Bearing fruit in every good work."

(i.) The necessity of it.

(a) It is for God's glory (John 15:18).

(b) As a proof of our faith (James 2:18, 26).

(c) The edification of others (Matthew 5:16; Titus 3:8).

(d) The increase of our final reward (2 John 1:8)

(ii.) The means of it.

(a) We must abide in the true Vine, Jesus Christ (John 15:4; Philippians 1.).

(b) We must dwell beside the rivers of water (Psalm 1:3).

(iii.) The extent of it - "in every good work." We must be harmoniously developed in our obedience as in our inward experience (Philippians 4:8).

(β

) Increase in moral stature - "increasing by the knowledge of God." We grow in grace just as we grow in knowledge (2 Peter 3:18). There is a mutual interaction between knowledge and grace. We are to add to our faith virtue, and to our virtue knowledge (2 Peter 1:5), just as we are to grow in all spiritual graces by knowledge. Knowledge promotes the sanctification of our callings and our food (1 Timothy 4:3), enables us to discern things that differ (Philippians 1:10), and keeps down corrupt affections (Isaiah 11:7, 9).

(2) The knowledge of God's will tends to strengthen patience in suffering.

(a) The need of abounding strength - "strengthened with all might."

(α

) The afflictions of life tend to weaken us.

(β

) Our adversaries are many.

(γ

) Our faith is fitful.

(δ

) We are often unsettled and tossed about by the wind of contrary doctrine (Ephesians 4:14).

(ε

) We are, perhaps, "babes in Christ," and unskilful in the word of righteousness (Hebrews 5:12, 13).

(b) The source of our strengths "according to the power of his glory;" his glory being the manifestation of his love to man (Ephesians 3:16). We "can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth us" (Philippians 4:13). He "giveth strength to his people" and "strength is of the Lord." (Psalm 62:11). "They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength" (Isaiah 40:31). "Glorious power will be victorious power." It is God's revelation of himself to us that gives us our greatest strength. It is his glory that sets his power to work, as it is by promise pledged to his people. Therefore:

(α

) Let us pray for knowledge and faith to discern God's promise and power (Ephesians 1:8).

(β

) Let us hold fast the truth of the gospel, eschewing "winds of doctrine." Let us "follow the truth in love."

(c) The fruit of our strength - "unto patience and long suffering with joyfulness."

(α

) Patience or endurance.

(i.) It is the grace which does not easily succumb under suffering, and is one of the most blessed fruits of the tree of life. It is the result of the bracing effect of affliction (James 5:11), and is opposed to despondency or cowardice.

(ii.) Our patience will grow
(a) through the word of patience, for the comforts of the Scriptures beget both patience and hope (Romans 15:4).
(b) We must cultivate a humble and constant trust in the Lord (Psalm 37:3).
(c) We must continue instant in prayer (Romans 12:12).

(β

) Long suffering is a temper of gentleness and self restraint, closely connected with patience.

(i.) It is the Lord's command that we should suffer long (Matthew 5:21, 22)

(ii.) There are injuries that befall us in Divine providence (2 Samuel 16:10).

(iii.) A revengeful spirit is a hindrance to prayer (1 Timothy 2:8) and to the due power of the Word (James 1:21), and it lets the devil into the heart (Ephesians 4:21). Therefore, let us practise this grace of long suffering.

(γ

) Joyfulness. "They that sow in tears shall reap in joy." It is possible to be "sorrowful, yet alway rejoicing" (2 Corinthians 6:10).

(i.) Our patience and long-suffering must be balanced with joy so as to sustain their true temper.

(ii.) It is possible to be joyful in tribulations (James 1:2).

(iii.) It is commanded by Christ (Matthew 5:12) and enforced by his own example on the cross (Hebrews 12:2).

(iv.) Its ground is our fellowship with Christ in his sufferings (1 Peter 4:13), and the expectation of a heavenly inheritance (Hebrews 10:14).

(v.) It is one of the fruits of God's Spirit (Galatians 5:22). - T. C.

Paul an Apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God.
Notice —

I. THE BLENDING OF LOWLINESS AND AUTHORITY IN PAUL'S DESIGNATION OF HIMSELF. He does not always bring his apostolic authority to mind in his letters. In his earliest, to the Thessalonians, he has not yet adopted the practice. In Philippians he has no need, for it was not gainsaid. In Philemon friendship is uppermost, and he will not command as an "apostle," but pleads as "the prisoner of Christ Jesus." In the rest he puts it in the foreground, as here.

1. He claims the apostolate in the highest sense of the word — equality with the original apostles, the chosen witnesses of Christ's resurrection, for he, too, had seen the Lord, and his whole ministry was built upon the fact.

2. "Through the will of God" is at once an assertion of Divine authority and of independence, and also a lowly disclaimer of individual merit and power.

3. His gracious humility is seen in his association of his young brother Timothy, who has no apostolic authority, but whose concurrence in his teaching might give it some additional weight; but in the fiery sweep of his thoughts, Timothy is soon left out of sight and Paul alone pours out the wealth of his wisdom and the warmth of his heart.

II. THE NOBLE IDEAL OF THE CHRISTIAN CHARACTER SET FORTH IN THE DESIGNATIONS OF THE COLOSSIAN CHURCH. In his earlier letters the address is to "the Church," but in his latter, beginning with Romans, and including Ephesians, Philippians, and Colossians, he drops the word, and uses expressions which regard individuals rather than the community. This did not arise from any lower estimate of "the Church," but advancing years and familiarity with his work, his position, and his auditors, all tended to draw him closer to them, and led to the disuse of the formal and official term in favour of the simpler and more affectionate "brethren."

1. Saints — a word wofully misapplied. The Church has given it as a special honour to a few, and decorated with it the possessors of a false ideal of sanctity — that of the ascetic sort. The world has used it with a sarcastic intonation as if it implied loud professions and small performance, not without a touch of hypocrisy. Saints are not people living in cloisters, but men and women immersed in the vulgar work of every day life.(1) The root idea of the word is not moral purity, but separation to God. Consecration to Him is the root from which the white flower of purity springs. We cannot make ourselves pure, but we can yield ourselves to God, and the purity will come.(2) We have also the idea of the solemn obligation on all so-called Christians to devote themselves to Him. We are not bound to this as Christians; we are not Christians unless we consecrate ourselves. So the term does not belong to an eminent sort of Christians.(3) The one motive which will lead us to bow our necks to the easy yoke, and come out of the misery of self pleasing into the peace of serving God, is drawn from the great love of Christ who devoted Himself, and bought us for tits own, by giving Himself to be ours. And if drawn by this we give ourselves to God, He gives Himself to us. "I am thine" has ever for its chord which completes the fulness of its music "Thou art Mine." And so "saint" is a name of dignity.(4) There is implied in it, too, safety. If I belong to God then I am sale from the touch of evil and the taint of decay.

2. Faithful — trustworthy — true to the stewardship or trusting; probably the latter, because faith underlies consecration, and weaves the bond which unites men in the brotherhood, for it brings all who share it into a common relation to the Father. And then he who is believing will be faithful in the sense of being worthy of confidence, and true to his duty, his profession, and his Lord.

3. Brethren.(1) That strong new bond of union among men the most unlike, was a strange phenomenon when the Roman world was falling to pieces, and men might well wonder as they saw the hearts of master and slave, Greek and barbarian, Jew and Gentile, fused into one glow of unselfish love.(2) But the word points not merely to Christian love, but to the common possession of a new life. It leads straight to the doctrine of regeneration, and proclaims that through faith in Christ men are made children of the highest, and therefore brethren. "To as many as received Him," etc.

4. In Christ: saints, believers, brethren, are in Him as living things are in the atmosphere, the branch in the vine, members in the body, inhabitants in a house, hearts that love in hearts that love, parts in a whole.

III. THE APOSTOLIC WISH WHICH SETS FORTH THE HIGH IDEAL TO BE DESIRED FOR CHURCHES AND INDIVIDUALS. "And the Lord Jesus Christ" should be omitted. Perhaps the word "brethren" was lingering in Paul's mind, and so instinctively he stopped with the kindred word "Father."

1. Grace and peace blend the Western and Eastern forms of salutation, and surpass both. All that the Greek meant by his "grace" and the Hebrew by his "peace," the ideally happy condition which differing nations have placed in different blessings, and all loving words have wished for dear ones, is secured .and conveyed to every one who trusts in Christ.

2. Grace means —

(1)Love in exercise to those who are below the lover;

(2)the gifts which such love bestows;

(3)the effects of these gifts in the beauties of character and conduct developed in the receivers.So here first the gentleness of the Father, next the outcome of that love which never visits the soul empty-handed, and as the result every beauty of mind, heart, and temper. "Of His fulness we have received grace for grace."

3. Peace comes after grace. For tranquillity of soul we must go to God, and He gives it by giving us His love and its gifts. There must be first peace with God that there may be peace from God.

(A. Maclaren, D. D.)

Pondering this we ask three questions.

I. WHAT IT REVEALS ABOUT THE APOSTLE.

1. His dignity: "An apostle by the will of God." a title —(1) Directly derived from God.(2) Abundantly justified —

(a)by supernatural visions and experiences;

(b)by seals of success.(3) Employed here —

(a)Because he was dealing with erroneous teaching, and so needed a claim of authority.

(b)He was personally an entire stranger to the Colossians.

(c)He writes from prison, and it was well that he should remind himself and them of his dignity. He was a prisoner, but he was none the less an apostle.

2. His condescension: "Timotheus our brother." He was no fellow-apostle, yet his brother; his boyish convert, yet his brother. Great souls never patronize; they elevate men of whatever station or age into brotherhood with them. The Greatest is not ashamed to call us brethren.

II. WHAT IT IMPLIES ABOUT THE CHURCH. It recalls to us —

1. Its locality and associations. One of the historic Churches in the valley of the Lycus. The town had been famous, but its glory was waning. Xerxes and Cyrus had made it famous, bat Paul's letter has made its name known where Xerxes and Cyrus have never been heard of.

2. Its character, which ought to be that of every Church.(1) "Saints." The Old Testament description of Israel applied to Christians to indicate union to God and consecration.(2) "Faithful brethren," indicating union to each other. All freemasonries, guilds, etc., are but hints of what the Church was meant to be.

III. WHAT IT SUGGESTS ABOUT TRUE BLESSEDNESS.

1. "Grace" is a Greek thought Christianized. It takes the conception of grace of form, gesture, tone into the spiritual realm. To Paul it has two meanings.(1) It is to be enjoyed as the attitude of God in Christ towards men. It is thus the Divine pity, gentleness, favour; the bearing of a forgiving, condescending, loving God.(2) It is to be possessed as the spirit of a Christian. It is thus "the grace of life," moral beauty, spiritual loveliness. It is the indwelling in human character of more than all that the Greeks conceived in their "three graces."

2. "Peace," which may include —(1) Freedom from persecution — a great desideratum.(2) Absence of internal dissension — one main purpose of the letter.(3) Inward calm of heart, and quiet confidence in God — ideal peace, Christ's peace. The wish of Paul is the gift of Jesus.

(U. R. Thomas.)

I. THE SUPERSCRIPTION.

1. The writer.(1) His Gentile name, kindred in form and pronunciation to his Hebrew name, was that of an honoured family in Rome. His use of it is evidence.of his desire to keep before himself and others the relationship of Jesus to Gentiles, and to show that He was no respecter of persons who gave Himself a ransom for all.(2) His office — messenger of Jesus Christ; not (2 Corinthians 8:23) of the Churches. The expression implies that Christ has a message for universal man, "Go ye into all the world," a message of good news.(3) His Divine authority, "By the will of God," stated to shield himself from the charge that he was running unsent. The best are sometimes misunderstood, mistrusted, and suspected. Although many have no special call, yet all can do something after the manner of a humble herald to diffuse the glad tidings, and as we have opportunity so responsibility is laid upon us to be up and doing.

2. Paul associates with himself Timotheus the brother, or brother Timothy, not his own in particular, nor theirs, but the Church's universally. The disciples of Jesus are a brotherhood, and every individual should be animated in relation to all the rest with the feelings of a brother or a sister.

3. The parties addressed were —(1) In his judgment of charity, true saints — a fine word meaning "holy ones," and yet it has been pelted for ages with moral mire. No wonder, for it has been assumed by pretenders, and claimed by people because they lived in cells or wore a certain garb. Unholy men, occupying a certain official position, have been and are obsequiously addressed as "Your Holiness." Saintliness is not a thing of profession but practice, and springs out of that pure heart which sees God.(2) Faithful brethren in Christ. That was the secret of all their excellencies. We do not say of any one that he is in Luther or Calvin, Paul, David, or Isaiah — but "in Christ." We may be in love, peace, joy; and in some kindred way we may be in Christ, even as we live, move, and have our being in Him. Conversely, Christ is in us, when He is the object of the faith that is in us. We never fully comprehend Him; but He comprehends us as members are comprehended in the body and branches in the tree.

II. THE SALUTATION.

1. A cordial greeting of this kind was common with the apostle. It was no formality or empty inflation. He really felt most kindly towards the Colossians, and hence, with beautiful Christian gentlemanliness, he no sooner names them than he hastens to set them entirely at ease, by letting them feel his cordial friendliness.

2. The salutation is not a supplication, but rather a benediction. In the former we address God, in the latter man.

3. It is twofold — Greek and Hebrew, being a message to both peoples.(1) The word "grace," though not that which the Greeks employed in their salutation, is intimately related to it. When Greek met Greek politely, they mutually said, "Joy to thee." The apostle slightly modifies the ordinary Greek phraseology, and lays hold of a word which directs attention to the Divine source of joy. The English "grace," as is obvious from its two adjectives "graceful" and "gracious," denotes that which occasions joy. It is connected with gratitude and gratification as conditions of heart that are inspirations of joy. But the term is employed to denote that greatest joy-giving kindness which when found in the heart of God towards us is the fountain of joy unspeakable. From the constitution of the mind, lovingkindness is pre-eminently fitted to produce joy.(2) The Jewish salutation, "Peace," is strictly oriental and primitive. It had naturally sprung up when there were no extensive governments or codes of law, when men were apt to be like Ishmaelites wherever they travelled. When they came in view of strangers therefore, if no hostile intent was entertained, it was natural to call out "Peace!" As time rolled on and peoples got consolidated into organized communities, so that life in general became secure, the import of the salutation became gradually and increasingly enriched — equivalent to "May you have peace, and the fruits of it in your home, amongst your friends and neighbours, in your heart." But as the apostle turned to Jesus, "peace" became that which He gave, that which passed all understanding.

(J. Morison, D. D.)

I. AN EXALTED AND IMPORTANT OFFICE. "Apostle." Paul was commissioned to declare the grandest truths. His sphere was the world, and to fill it involved incredible care, work, and suffering. The office was created by the circumstances of the time. An ordinary officer can govern a garrison, but it requires a gifted general to marshal an army in line of battle. In the Divine government the occasion calls forth the man.

II. THE AUTHORITY THAT DESIGNATES AND QUALIFIES. The will of God is the great originating and governing force. That force called and qualified Paul (Acts 9.). In undertaking the highest work for God it is not enough that we possess learning, gifts, piety, without the consciousness of a Divine commission. There are crises when it is necessary to have this to fall back upon.

III. A FAMILIAR CHRISTIAN RELATIONSHIP. "Timotheus our brother." He was Paul's "own son in the faith," but here he recognizes him on the more equal footing of brother. Christianity is a brotherhood; not a communism which drags down all to its own level, but a holy confederacy in which men of all ranks, ages, and talents unite. His equality is based on a moral foundation. The minister whose position is assured loses nothing by honouring his younger brethren.

IV. UNITY OF SYMPATHY AND DESIRE. "Paul and Timothy." The closest intimacy, notwithstanding disparity in rank and ability.

V. SUGGESTIVE PHASES OF CHRISTIAN CHARACTER.

1. Saints.

2. Faithful brethren. Several races are here united in a holy and faithful brotherhood.

3. The sublime origin of the Christian character. "In Christ."

VI. THE SALUTATION SUPPLICATES THE BESTOWMENT OF HIGHEST DIVINE BLESSINGS.

1. Grace. A term inclusive of all the blessings that can flow from God.

2. Peace. Grace expresses the spirit in which Divine manifestations come; peace the result they accomplish.

(1)Peace with God.

(2)Peace with each other — peace in the Church.

3. The source of the blessings desired. The Father's love and the Son's work are the sole source of every blessing, while the Holy Spirit is the agent of their communication. Learn: the broad, deep charity of the apostolic spirit, and the scope and temper of the prayers we should offer for the race.

(G. Barlow.)

People
Colossians, Epaphras, Paul, Thessalonians, Timotheus, Timothy
Places
Colossae, Philippi
Topics
TRUE, Approval, Bearing, Exhibit, Fruit, Fruitful, Fuller, Fully, Giving, Grow, Growing, Increasing, Lead, Manner, Perfectly, Please, Pleasing, Respects, Results, Sort, Uprightly, Walk, Walking, Well-pleasing, Worthily, Worthy
Outline
1. After salutation Paul thanks God for the Colossians' faith;
7. confirms the doctrine of Epaphras;
9. prays further for their increase in grace;
14. describes the supremacy of Christ;
21. encourages them to receive Jesus Christ, and commends his own ministry.

Dictionary of Bible Themes
Colossians 1:10

     5197   walking
     6745   sanctification, nature and basis
     6746   sanctification, means and results
     8162   spiritual vitality
     8255   fruit, spiritual
     8258   fruitfulness, spiritual
     8352   thankfulness
     8369   worthiness
     8443   growth
     8460   pleasing God

Colossians 1:9-10

     5038   mind, the human
     8136   knowing God, effects
     8367   wisdom, importance of
     8619   prayer, in church

Colossians 1:9-12

     7027   church, purpose

Colossians 1:9-13

     8611   prayer, for others

Colossians 1:10-11

     8318   patience
     8418   endurance

Colossians 1:10-12

     8416   encouragement, promises
     8442   good works
     8459   perseverance

Library
February 11. "Strengthened with all Might unto all Patience" (Col. I. 11).
"Strengthened with all might unto all patience" (Col. i. 11). The apostle prays for the Colossians, that they may be "strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, unto all patience and long-suffering with joyfulness." It is one thing to endure and show the strain on every muscle of your face, and seem to say with every wrinkle, "Why does not somebody sympathize with me?" It is another to endure the cross, "despising the shame" for the joy set before us. There are some trees in the
Rev. A. B. Simpson—Days of Heaven Upon Earth

February 18. "Christ in You" (Col. I. 27).
"Christ in you" (Col. i. 27). How great the difference between the old and the new way of deliverance! One touch of Christ is worth a lifetime of struggling. A sufferer in one of our hospitals was in danger of losing his sight from a small piece of broken needle that had entered his eye. Operation after operation had only irritated it, and driven the foreign substance farther still into the delicate nerves of the sensitive organ. At length a skilful young physician thought of a new expedient. He
Rev. A. B. Simpson—Days of Heaven Upon Earth

Twenty Fourth Sunday after Trinity Prayer and Spiritual Knowledge.
Text: Colossians 1, 3-14. 3 We give thanks to God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, 4 having heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and of the love which ye have toward all the saints, 5 because of the hope which is laid up for you in the heavens, whereof ye heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel, 6 which is come unto you; even as it is also in all the world bearing fruit and increasing, as it doth in you also, since the day ye heard and knew the grace of God
Martin Luther—Epistle Sermons, Vol. III

'All Power'
'Strengthened with all power, according to the might of His glory, unto all patience and longsuffering with joy.'--COL. i. 11 (R.V.). There is a wonderful rush and fervour in the prayers of Paul. No parts of his letters are so lofty, so impassioned, so full of his soul, as when he rises from speaking of God to men to speaking to God for men. We have him here setting forth his loving desires for the Colossian Christians in a prayer of remarkable fulness and sweep. Broadly taken, it is for their perfecting
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Thankful for Inheritance
'Giving thanks unto the Father, who made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light.'--COL. i. 12 (R.V.) It is interesting to notice how much the thought of inheritance seems to have been filling the Apostle's mind during his writing of Ephesians and Colossians. Its recurrence is one of the points of contact between them. For example, in Ephesians, we read, 'In whom also were made a heritage' (i. 11); 'An earnest of our inheritance' (i. 14); 'His inheritance in the saints'
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Saints, Believers, Brethren
' . . . The saints and faithful brethren in Christ.'--COL. i. 2. 'The disciples were called Christians first in Antioch,' says the Acts of the Apostles. It was a name given by outsiders, and like most of the instances where a sect, or school, or party is labelled with the name of its founder, it was given in scorn. It hit and yet missed its mark. The early believers were Christians, that is, Christ's men, but they were not merely a group of followers of a man, like many other groups of whom the
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Christian Endeavour
'I also labour, striving according to His working, which worketh in me mightily.'--COL. i. 29. I have chosen this text principally because it brings together the two subjects which are naturally before us to-day. All 'Western Christendom,' as it is called, is to-day commemorating the Pentecostal gift. My text speaks about that power that 'worketh in us mightily.' True, the Apostle is speaking in reference to the fiery energy and persistent toil which characterised him in proclaiming Christ, that
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

The Gospel-Hope
'The hope of the Gospel.'--COL. i. 5. 'God never sends mouths but He sends meat to feed them,' says the old proverb. And yet it seems as if that were scarcely true in regard to that strange faculty called Hope. It may well be a question whether on the whole it has given us more pleasure than pain. How seldom it has been a true prophet! How perpetually its pictures have been too highly coloured! It has cast illusions over the future, colouring the far-off hills with glorious purple which, reached,
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

The Next Performance is Mainly Directed against Faith in the Church...
The next performance is mainly directed against faith in the Church, as a society of Divine origin. "The Rev. Henry Bristow Wilson, B.D., Vicar of Great Staughton, Hunts," claims that a National Church shall be regarded as a purely secular Institution,--the spontaneous development of the State. "If all priests and ministers of religion could at one moment be swept from the face of the Earth, they would soon be reproduced [76] ." The Church is concerned with Ethics, not with Divinity. It should therefore
John William Burgon—Inspiration and Interpretation

All Fulness in Christ
The text is a great deep, we cannot explore it, but we will voyage over its surface joyously, the Holy Spirit giving us a favorable wind. Here are plenteous provisions far exceeding, those of Solomon, though at the sight of that royal profusion, Sheba's queen felt that there was no more spirit in her, and declared that the half had not been told to her. It may give some sort of order to our thoughts if they fall under four heads. What is here spoken of--"all fullness." Where is it placed--"in him,"
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 17: 1871

Thankful Service.
(Twenty-fourth Sunday after Trinity.) COL. i. 12. "Giving thanks." In one of our northern coal-pits there was a little boy employed in a lonely and dangerous part of the mine. One day a visitor to the coal-pit asked the boy about his work, and the child answered, "Yes, it is very lonely here, but I pick up the little bits of candle thrown away by the colliers, and join them together, and when I get a light I sing." My brothers, every day of our lives we are picking up blessings which the loving
H. J. Wilmot-Buxton—The Life of Duty, a Year's Plain Sermons, v. 2

Twenty-Third Day for the Holy Spirit in Your Own Work
WHAT TO PRAY.--For the Holy Spirit in your own Work "I labour, striving according to His working, which worketh in me mightily."--COL. i. 29. You have your own special work; make it a work of intercession. Paul laboured, striving according to the working of God in him. Remember, God is not only the Creator, but the Great Workman, who worketh all in all. You can only do your work in His strength, by Him working in you through the Spirit. Intercede much for those among whom you work, till God gives
Andrew Murray—The Ministry of Intercession

Knowledge and Obedience.
"For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; that ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, unto all patience and long-suffering with joyfulness; giving thanks unto the Father."--COL. i. 9-12. The Epistles
W. H. Griffith Thomas—The Prayers of St. Paul

The Inheritance.
Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light.--Ep. to the Colossians i. 12. To have a share in any earthly inheritance, is to diminish the share of the other inheritors. In the inheritance of the saints, that which each has, goes to increase the possession of the rest. Hear what Dante puts in the mouth of his guide, as they pass through Purgatory:-- Perche s'appuntano i vostri desiri Dove per compagnia parte si scema, Invidia muove
George MacDonald—Unspoken Sermons

The Disciple, -- Master, if Thou Wouldst Make a Special Manifestation of Thyself to The...
The Disciple,--Master, if Thou wouldst make a special manifestation of Thyself to the world, men would no longer doubt the existence of God and Thy own divinity, but all would believe and enter on the path of righteousness. The Master,--1. My son, the inner state of every man I know well, and to each heart in accordance with its needs I make Myself known; and for bringing men into the way of righteousness there is no better means than the manifestation of Myself. For man I became man that he might
Sadhu Sundar Singh—At The Master's Feet

Victory Found
AT THE close of this little volume it seems fitting to recount again a wonderful personal experience, narrated in The Sunday School Times of December 7, 1918. I do not remember the time when I did not have in some degree a love for the Lord Jesus Christ as my Saviour. When not quite twelve years of age, at a revival meeting, I publicly accepted and confessed Christ as my Lord and Master. From that time there grew up in my heart a deep yearning to know Christ in a more real way, for he seemed so unreal,
Rosalind Goforth—How I Know God Answers Prayer

section 3
But we will go back from this glimpse of God's ultimate purpose for us, to watch the process by which it is reached, so far as we can trace it in the ripening of the little annuals. The figure will not give us all the steps by which God gets His way in the intricacies of a human soul: we shall see no hint in it of the cleansing and filling that is needed in sinful man before he can follow the path of the plant. It shows us some of the Divine principles of the new life rather than a set sequence of
I. Lilias Trotter—Parables of the Christ-life

Christ and Man in the Atonement
OUR conception of the relations subsisting between God and man, of the manner in which these relations are affected by sin, and particularly of the Scripture doctrine of the connection between sin and death, must determine, to a great extent, our attitude to the Atonement. The Atonement, as the New Testament presents it, assumes the connection of sin and death. Apart from some sense and recognition of such connection, the mediation of forgiveness through the death of Christ can only appear an arbitrary,
James Denney—The Death of Christ

The Mystical Union with Immanuel.
"Christ in you the hope of glory." --Col. i. 27. The union of believers with Christ their Head is not effected by instilling a divine-human life-tincture into the soul. There is no divine-human life. There is a most holy Person, who unites in Himself the divine and the human life; but both natures continue unmixed, unblended, each retaining its own properties. And since there is no divine-human life in Jesus, He can not instil it into us. We do heartily acknowledge that there is a certain conformity
Abraham Kuyper—The Work of the Holy Spirit

A Preliminary Discourse to Catechising
'If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled.' - Col 1:23. Intending next Lord's day to enter upon the work of catechising, it will not be amiss to give you a preliminary discourse, to show you how needful it is for Christians to be well instructed in the grounds of religion. If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled.' I. It is the duty of Christians to be settled in the doctrine of faith. II. The best way for Christians to be settled is to be well grounded. I. It is the duty of Christians
Thomas Watson—A Body of Divinity

Fourthly; all the [Credenda, Or] Doctrines, which the True, Simple, and Uncorrupted Christian Religion Teaches,
(that is, not only those plain doctrines which it requires to be believed as fundamental and of necessity to eternal salvation, but even all the doctrines which it teaches as matters of truth,) are, though indeed many of them not discoverable by bare reason unassisted with revelation; yet, when discovered by revelation, apparently most agreeable to sound unprejudiced reason, have every one of them a natural tendency, and a direct and powerful influence to reform men's minds, and correct their manners,
Samuel Clarke—A Discourse Concerning the Being and Attributes of God

The Best Things Work for Good to the Godly
WE shall consider, first, what things work for good to the godly; and here we shall show that both the best things and the worst things work for their good. We begin with the best things. 1. God's attributes work for good to the godly. (1). God's power works for good. It is a glorious power (Col. i. 11), and it is engaged for the good of the elect. God's power works for good, in supporting us in trouble. "Underneath are the everlasting arms" (Deut. xxxiii. 27). What upheld Daniel in the lion's den?
Thomas Watson—A Divine Cordial

Of Love to God
I proceed to the second general branch of the text. The persons interested in this privilege. They are lovers of God. "All things work together for good, to them that love God." Despisers and haters of God have no lot or part in this privilege. It is children's bread, it belongs only to them that love God. Because love is the very heart and spirit of religion, I shall the more fully treat upon this; and for the further discussion of it, let us notice these five things concerning love to God. 1. The
Thomas Watson—A Divine Cordial

The Rise of the Assyrian Empire
PHOENICIA AND THE NORTHERN NATIONS AFTER THE DEATH OP RAMSES III.--THE FIRST ASSYRIAN EMPIRE: TIGLATH-PILESUR I.--THE ARAMAEANS AND THE KHATI. The continuance of Egyptian influence over Syrian civilization after the death of Ramses III.--Egyptian myths in Phoenicia: Osiris and Isis at Byblos--Horus, Thot, and the origin of the Egyptian alphabet--The tombs at Arvad and the Kabr-Hiram; Egyptian designs in Phoenician glass and goldsmiths'work--Commerce with Egypt, the withdrawal of Phoenician colonies
G. Maspero—History Of Egypt, Chaldaea, Syria, Babylonia, and Assyria, V 6

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